Trevor’s Travels: Get the bear facts at the Big Bear Alpine Zoo

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Big Bear Alpine Zoo is a rehabilitation facility offering injured, orphaned and imprinted wild animals a safe haven, either temporarily or permanently, if they are unable to survive on their own back in the wild. (Photo by Trevor Summons)

I had an encounter a couple of years ago with a grizzly bear. It was a close encounter.

I was on one of my long motorcycle rides and just starting the return trip from the small town of West Glacier, Montana.

It was a bright early morning, and as I rode south I noticed a movement in the trees to my right. I thought it was a big dog, but in fact, it was a grizzly on a fast run across to the other side of the road that I was on. I calculated that we were on a collision course.

When he was about 35 feet away, the bear obviously had made the same calculation and stopped dead in his tracks, did a 180 and tore back from whence he came. For me, it was a little too close for comfort.

Recently, I came close to three more grizzlies, but this time they were behind a chain link fence in the Big Bear Alpine Zoo. It was a lot safer all around, and the experience didn’t get my pulse racing like before.

There are three of these wonderful bears at the zoo, and they’re all related — Tutu with two of her offspring, Ayla and Harley.

Mama Tutu is a three-strikes bear from Yellowstone that had been removed from an area where she was not welcome but kept returning. She’s been here since 1996. She had escaped euthanasia with a big effort from the Friends of the Big Bear Alpine Zoo and now spends her days lazily with her family.

These bears, with brown glossy coats, are quite inviting to look at, but at 300-plus pounds and an unpredictable temperament they are anything but safe to be around.

The zoo has been here since 1959 and is not a place where captured species are held. Rather, they are “damaged” animals that in some cases can be returned to the wild but mostly they stay here as they have been “humanized.”

The zoo also has large predatory birds with wings that have been damaged, therefore, they cannot fly and are unable to fend for themselves.

On the way into the zoo, I stopped at the entrance and looked at a few of the glass cages.

I rather liked a huge reddish lizard called a Red Tegu, which comes from Argentina. The animal didn’t stir, and since I recently visited Argentina I know it’s a very long journey. If he had walked here, no wonder he was sleeping, he must have been dog tired.

I stopped for a spell and looked at a Golden Eagle high up in the branches of a tree in a tall cage. In front, there is a wood carving of a Bald Eagle to give people an idea of the size in case the real one was not out. He wasn’t the day I was there.

Early next year, it is expected that the zoo will have successfully moved to new premises. Currently, it’s a little cramped but the new place will be much larger and it’s well on the way to completion.

It will have better accommodation for the animals, the staff and the visitors who flock here to look at the wonders of the natural world.

I was told that the new facility will have a lot more glass between us and the animals. I shall be glad of that as taking photos of animals behind chain link fence is quite difficult.

During my encounter in Montana, there was no fence between me and the grizzly.

Frankly, I would have preferred one as it was quite frightening. I’m glad for the experience — and I’m definitely grateful for the bear’s final decision. It could have been very nasty for us both.

“Trevor’s Travels (in Southern California)” is available from amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and other booksellers. You can reach Trevor Summons at trevorsummons@hotmail.com.

Big Bear Alpine Zoo

Where: 43285 Goldmine Drive, Big Bear Lake

Hours: Through Labor Day, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily; last entry at 4:30 p.m. (closes one hour earlier after Labor Day through the Friday before Memorial Day)

Trevor Summons writes about getaways in the Inland Empire and beyond. His book, “Trevor’s Travels (in Southern California),” is available from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and other booksellers. Email trevorsummons@hotmail.com.